Oxygen enriching machines

[Geoff]

Hi folks,

I wondered if any of the inspecting officers and anyone else for that matter has a view on a situation that has developed in one of the assisted living (new word for sheltered) accommodation schemes we have?

Basically one of the tenants has breathing difficulties and needs to take medical oxyen from cylinders and she also needs an oxygen enriching machine and the medicos say it needs to be on a high setting with her particular condition.  The lady and her family insist on keeping her flat door open (at all times) which opens onto one of the communal corridors (and yes it is supposed to be one of the protected escape routes).  This obviously lets the oxygen enriched atmosphere into the rest of the home!  We have assessed the situation and have taken the view that the flat door needs to be closed at all times and have informed them all in writing, etc of this and the reasons behind it, eg extra fire risk, and so on.  

I just want to clear it up in my mind that insisting on the flat door being closed is the right approach as it is getting the situation is getting a bit fraught as there are also a few other concerns but not with fire safety, so any thoughts would be appreciated by me and the scheme manager.

[John Webb]

Would keeping the flat door open prevent the oxygen enriching machine from providing the required level of oxygen within the flat? I'm not certain how these machines work, but do they actually measure the oxygen level and add more O2 'as required'? Or are they simply adjusted on the basis of a particular volume and assumed number of airchanges/hour?
In other words, does leaving the door open prevent the level of oxygen required by the medics being obtained? This argument may perhaps be stronger to the person concerned and relatives than the fire risk one!

[Ashley Wood]

Take a look at this site http://www.twfire.co.uk/firesafety/business/regional-care-standards/oxygen

[jokar]

I for one would like additional oxygen at times and that is good for us.  The real question is about ignition sources and the escalation of a fire from the enriched atmosphere should a fire occur.  Whilst escape is important, surely the evacuation strategy is for people to stay in their own homes unless they are in the communal parts and then PHE or full evacuation will apply with more than the one escape route.  To accommodate this person if you want to of course, you could have EMDH put on her door which will tehn close on operation of the Fire Alarm.

[Geoff]

Thank you for your replies.

Apparently keeping the door open does decrease the effectiveness fo the machines as it has to work harder to keep up the required level of oxygen in the atmosphere.  It seems this particular lady has quite a sophisticated setup that measures everything and probalby makes the tea!  Nobody has tried that tack with her yet, and as I have to go and meet with the family next week I shall certainly try it!

The scheme does indeed have a 'stay put' policy for those in their flats and all others in communal areas are supposed to vacate the property in the event of an evacuation, and I agree that fitting a EMDH to the front door could work.  Unfortunately the security implications from wanderers (e.g. low level dementia sufferers, etc) and potential burglars (some of our older residents are a bit too trusting), etc prevent us doing that.

Would extending the main communal alarm into that particular flat be a sensible option as it should give earlier warning of any potential problems?

[jokar]

It would certainly give early warning but the difficulty with the door being open will still arise.  Is there not domestic type detectors in the room at present?  There are betterqualified people on thiss forum who could give advice on the FA set up. Perhaps pose a question in the Technical advice thread.